The Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) described the situation in Libya as embarrassing, expressing his concern over the Russian presence in it, and as the forces of the National Accord government continue to prepare for the anticipated Sirte battle, France has stepped up its rhetoric against Turkey amid reports that Ankara is seeking to establish two bases on Libyan soil.
In a press conference today, Tuesday, before the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stolberg said that the Libyan situation is critical, dangerous and worrying, especially with regard to finding mass graves left by the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter behind in the city of Tarhuna (80 km southeast of Tripoli).
He added that NATO is concerned about the increasing Russian presence in the eastern Mediterranean, especially in Libya, stressing the importance of reaching a political solution in Libya under the umbrella of the United Nations.
Stolberg's remarks about the Russian presence in Libya come at a time when the command of the American forces in Africa (AFRICOM) has estimated the number of Russian mercenaries currently fighting in the ranks of Haftar's forces by about two thousand mercenaries.
AFRICOM recently confirmed that Russia provided Haftar with warplanes, and published pictures showing some of these planes at the Al-Jafra airbase (650 km east of Tripoli), while the forces of the Al-Wefaq government confirmed that Russian mercenaries were working to mine Sirte and its surroundings as they had mined it by the southern suburbs of Tripoli .
In conjunction with Stolberg's remarks, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the union is concerned about the escalation of tensions in Libya.
He added that the situation in the eastern Mediterranean is getting worse, and added that the foreign ministers of the European Union countries will discuss relations with Turkey in light of what he described as current disturbing events, in reference to Turkey's role in the military victories recently achieved by the Libyan reconciliation government, as it ended the presence of Haftar in the west of the country .
Earlier, the European Union called for an urgent ceasefire in Libya, the same position expressed by the United States and the United Nations.
French escalation
also politically, the French presidency said yesterday that Ankara's role in Libya is unacceptable and hostile and must end.
She added in a statement that the Libyan government of reconciliation continued the attack with tremendous Turkish support, despite agreeing to discuss a ceasefire.
The French presidency also said that Paris called for consultations with its NATO partners to discuss the Turkish role in Libya.
The French comments came after Ankara rejected the Egyptian initiative on Libya, which was supported by countries described as supportive of Haftar, including France.
It also comes at a time when Turkey is in talks with the Al-Wefaq government about the possible use of the two air bases in the west of the country, and the Misurata naval base east of Tripoli, according to Reuters quoted a Turkish source.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today during a press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, that his country and Turkey are in contact to push the Libyan parties to negotiate.
Lavrov was supposed to visit Istanbul on Sunday to discuss the Libyan file with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlid Tegawishoglu, but he postponed his visit to an unspecified date, in light of the contrast between Ankara and Moscow over the situation in Libya.
While a Turkish official said that one of the reasons for postponing Lavrov's visit was the intention of the Libyan reconciliation government forces to launch a military operation to retake the city of Sirte, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavoyuzoglu denied that there were differences between his country and Russia over the basic principles of a ceasefire in Libya.
Military battle of Sirte , Al-Wefaq government forces continue to send reinforcements to the city of Sirte (450 km east of Tripoli), and activists reported that fighters from the town of Zuwara in the west of the country joined forces stationed west of Sirte.
Al-Wefaq forces advanced about ten days ago, about 120 kilometers, to the outskirts of Sirte, but they faced minefields and were subjected to air strikes that caused losses in their ranks, which forced them to retreat to the Thirtieth Gate to become 50 kilometers from the city center.
The Turkish Anatolia News Agency quoted a spokesman for the joint operations room in Sirte, Al-Jafra, with the reconciliation forces, Brigadier General Abdul Hadi Dara, that the city of Sirte was a red line for them, and they would not concede.
For his part, Al-Wefaq field commander, Major General Hussein Shaltati said that their forces were advancing towards Sirte after receiving instructions from the President of the Presidential Council of the Government, Fayez al-Sarraj, adding that the Al-Wefaq forces, despite the shelling and other difficulties it had suffered, are continuing to prepare and await orders to start the operation.